You’ve seen the movie. You know the glowing red eyes in the window and the walls bleeding green slime. But if you actually drive down to the quiet, upscale neighborhood in Long Island today, you won’t find a house of horrors. You’ll find a stunning, well-maintained Dutch Colonial that looks like it belongs on the cover of a luxury real estate magazine. 108 Ocean Drive Amityville—formerly known as 112 Ocean Avenue—is perhaps the most misunderstood piece of real estate in American history. It’s a place where a very real tragedy met a very profitable ghost story, and honestly, the truth is way more complicated than Hollywood lets on.
People still flock there. Even though the current owners just want to eat their breakfast in peace, tourists keep circling the block. They’re looking for the "High Hopes" sign or those iconic quarter-moon windows. Spoiler: they’re gone. The house has been renovated, the address has been changed to thwart looky-loos, and the windows were swapped out years ago to make the facade less recognizable.
The Night Everything Changed at 108 Ocean Drive Amityville
To understand why this house is such a lightning rod for controversy, you have to go back to November 13, 1974. This isn’t the "scary ghost" part of the story; it’s the heartbreaking part. Ronald DeFeo Jr. took a .35 Marlin rifle and systematically murdered six members of his family while they slept. His parents, Ronald Sr. and Louise, and his four siblings—Dawn, Allison, Marc, and John Matthew—were all found face down in their beds.
There were no reports of gunshots by the neighbors. No signs of a struggle. This lack of noise led to decades of wild conspiracy theories. Did he drug them? (Toxicology says no). Did he have an accomplice? (He claimed so at various points, but the evidence was shaky). DeFeo eventually confessed, but his stories changed like the wind. He blamed "voices" in the house, a defense his lawyer, William Weber, later admitted was a calculated move to push for an insanity plea.
When the Lutz family moved in thirteen months later, they knew about the murders. They bought the place for a "steal" at $80,000. They stayed exactly 28 days.
George and Kathy Lutz: Reality vs. Folklore
The Lutzes claimed they were driven out by supernatural forces. We’re talking about swarms of flies in the dead of winter, cold spots, and George waking up every morning at 3:15 AM—the exact time the DeFeo murders supposedly happened. They fled, leaving their clothes in the closets and food in the pantry.
But here’s the kicker. Jay Anson’s book, The Amityville Horror, and the subsequent films turned these claims into a global phenomenon. However, researchers and skeptics like Joe Nickell and even the late paranormal investigator Rick Moran have pointed out massive holes in the story. For example, the "damage" George Lutz claimed happened to the front door's hinges during a supernatural event didn't exist when the next owners moved in. The police were never called to the house during those 28 days, despite the Lutzes claiming massive disturbances.
👉 See also: Black Red Wing Shoes: Why the Heritage Flex Still Wins in 2026
Why the Address Changed from 112 to 108 Ocean Avenue
Living in a "haunted" house is a nightmare, but not because of ghosts. It’s because of the traffic. By the late 1970s, the town of Amityville was sick of the attention. The influx of tourists was so intense that the owners who followed the Lutzes—James and Barbara Cromarty—eventually won a legal battle to change the house's address.
They shifted it from 112 Ocean Avenue to 108 Ocean Drive Amityville.
The goal was simple: get off the map. They even changed the shape of the windows. Those famous "eye" windows were replaced with standard rectangular ones. If you look at the house today, it feels much more "New York suburbia" and much less "gateway to hell." The Cromartys lived there for a decade and, interestingly enough, reported absolutely zero paranormal activity. Not a single bump in the night.
James Cromarty famously said that the only thing scary about the house was the "reporters and the nuts" who wouldn't stop ringing the doorbell.
The Real Estate Reality of a "Stigmatized Property"
In the world of real estate, 108 Ocean Drive Amityville is the ultimate "stigmatized property." This is a legal term for a home where a non-physical factor—like a crime or a death—might affect its value. Usually, a murder like the DeFeo case would tank a home's value forever.
Surprisingly, that’s not really the case here.
✨ Don't miss: Finding the Right Word That Starts With AJ for Games and Everyday Writing
The house has sold several times since the 70s. In 2010, it went for about $950,000. In 2017, it sold again for $605,000. While that price drop looks scary, it was actually more about the local market conditions and the fact that the house is a "public" landmark that makes it hard to live in quietly. People aren't afraid of ghosts; they're afraid of the guy with a camera on the sidewalk at 2:00 AM.
Living there requires a certain kind of thick skin. You have to be okay with the fact that your home is essentially a celebrity.
Breaking Down the Myths
Let’s be real for a second. Most of what you think you know about 108 Ocean Drive Amityville is a lie.
- The Indian Burial Ground: There is no evidence—none—that the house was built on a Shinnecock burial ground. This was a plot point added to the book and movie to give the "evil" a backstory. Local historians and tribal leaders have debunked this repeatedly.
- The Red Room: In the movie, there's a hidden red room in the basement that makes the dog go crazy. In reality, it was a small, walk-in closet under the stairs used for storage. The Lutzes painted it red. That's it.
- The 3:15 AM Connection: While Ronald DeFeo did kill his family in the early morning, the "exactly 3:15 AM" thing was largely popularized by the films to create a sense of rhythmic dread.
The Human Cost of the Legend
It’s easy to get caught up in the spooky fun of a ghost story, but we often forget that 108 Ocean Drive Amityville was a crime scene. Six people lost their lives in those bedrooms.
The DeFeo children—Dawn, Allison, Marc, and John—were just kids. When we treat the house like a theme park attraction, we’re essentially voyeurs of a mass murder. This is why the local community in Amityville is so protective and, honestly, a bit prickly about the house. They don't want the "Horror" label; they want a quiet maritime village known for its boat docks and cute downtown area.
What You Should Know Before Visiting
If you’re planning a trip to see the house, you should probably reconsider.
🔗 Read more: Is there actually a legal age to stay home alone? What parents need to know
- It’s Private Property: The current owners are not running a museum. They are private citizens. If you step on the lawn, you are trespassing, and the Amityville police do not play around.
- You Can't See Much: High fences and strategic landscaping make it nearly impossible to get a good look at the house from the street.
- The Neighbors are Watching: The entire street is tired of the "Amityville Horror" legacy. Expect to be stared at—or reported— if you linger too long.
Instead of bothering the residents, visit the Amityville Historical Society or grab a coffee at a local spot in the village. You’ll get a much better sense of the area’s history without being "that person" blocking a driveway.
Moving Beyond the Horror
The legacy of 108 Ocean Drive Amityville is a weird cocktail of true crime, 1970s occult obsession, and savvy marketing. The Lutzes' story was the "found footage" of its day. It worked because people wanted to believe it. It offered a thrill that felt close to home.
But if you look at the facts—the lack of evidence, the Cromartys' peaceful decade in the house, and the debunking of the "burial ground" myth—the supernatural element starts to evaporate. What’s left is a tragic story of a broken family and a beautiful house that just can't seem to escape its past.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
If you’re fascinated by the history of this property, don't just watch the movies.
- Read the Court Transcripts: Look into the Ronald DeFeo Jr. trial. The forensic details of the Marlin rifle and the positioning of the bodies are far more chilling than any ghost story.
- Research Local Zoning: If you're interested in how the house has changed, look at public property records for the village of Amityville. You can see the permits for renovations that changed the face of the house.
- Respect the "Right to Be Forgotten": Recognize that for the people living on Ocean Drive today, the house isn't a movie set—it’s a home. The best way to "experience" the Amityville history is through books and documentaries, not by haunting the sidewalk of a private residence.
The true story of the house isn't about what's hiding in the basement. It’s about how a single night of violence can echo through decades, fueled by our collective fascination with things that go bump in the night. The house is just wood, brick, and mortar. The "horror" was always human.